Canada Expresses Readiness To Support, Assist Yemen Peace Process

Local Editor

Ottawa on Saturday commended the Yemen's warring parties for reaching a ceasefire agreement in Hodeida port city, encouraging full implementation of their commitments.

“Canada strongly supports the UN-sponsored peace consultations on Yemen and thanks the Government of Sweden for facilitating these talks. We also commend the work of Martin Griffiths, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, as he works to bring relief and, ultimately, peace to the people of Yemen,” read a joint statement issued by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development.

The statement carries on to say, “We stand ready to support and assist in the peace process.”

The Yemeni resigned regime and the Houthi Ansarullah popular movement Thursday reached an agreement on cessation of hostilities in the port of Hodeida. However they failed to reach accord on issues of the operation of the airport in Sana’a and consolidation of the national bank.

Canada also called for an end to hostilities. “We urge all parties to work together on the implementation of confidence-building measures, including the de-escalation measures in both Taiz and Hodeida, and the implementation of the exchange of prisoners’ agreement, as well as measures to stabilize the economy,” read the joint statement.

Armed confrontation between regime forces and the Houthi revolutionaries has been going on in Yemen since August 2014, reaching the most active phase in March 2015 after the Saudi-led coalition invaded the country. According to Yemen’s Legal Center for Rights and Development, more than 10,000 civilians, including almost 2,400 children and about 2,000 women, have been killed in the country since the spring of 2015. According to the United Nations, the country is facing the world’s most acute food crisis.

Source: Yemenwatch.net